Game Details
The Show So, that wide-grinning voice that likes to interrupt your day with cheery announcements? It keeps informing you that you're part of an “intergalactic reality show”. Apparently, pulling beings from all over the multiverse, throwing them into an assortment of ships, and watching them follow a host-ship as it drifts ever-forward through space is a highly entertaining and lucrative source of entertainment. The entity in charge of the show is referred to as “Atroma”, but no one will tell you what Atroma is. It could be a person, a corporation, a planet, an entire race—who knows? The specifics are still a mystery. You’re supposed to be on this trip for a whole cycle, but no one will tell you how long a “cycle” is, who your superiors are, or what kind of audience is watching. None of the populations in the host-ship Marsiva’s flight path seem to know what the Drift Fleet is, but go ahead and try asking them anyway. Try claiming that you're trapped by the whims of some omnipotent reality show, see what they say. Augments Regardless of their species, genetics, or powers, all characters in the Drift Fleet will wake up to find that there’s an “augment” planted near the base of their skull. It’s made mostly out of a synthetic, plastic-like material, but also contains a bit of non-magnetic metal. They rarely interfere with anything and don’t show up on scans. Most augment implants are completely embedded in the skin and nothing can be seen of them except a small, subdermal bump behind the left ear, but players may also choose to have their character’s augment stick out more--showing a node or some kind of band of white and black plastic. These augments cannot be removed. Characters are filled with a crippling dread and psychological pain if they try to remove their own augments. Attempts to remove someone else's augment fills the remover with a similar dread. Magics and other supernatural abilities seem to 'slide' off the augments, and mechanical attempts to remove the augments will result in catastrophic injury to the character. Even characters who can shift their forms or manipulate reality won’t be able to remove them; their augments just seem to come with them wherever and however they go. It’s unclear how the augments actually work, since the device doesn't give off any signals or have any electronic activity. It doesn't even seem to be magical, in case anyone looks. '''You know about space now''' These augments upload important information directly into the minds of all characters in the Drift Fleet. Most notably, new characters will find themselves with a basic understanding of space and how to use simple technology. They’ll also know enough to get around their ships and drive the small SR ("short-range") shuttles. They will know the basic parts of a space-faring crew and, depending on what starter you choose for them, will gain a specific skillset pertaining to one of those positions. '''Your complimentary language pack''' By the miracle of technology, the Drift Fleet has fully integrated its passengers into their new home, languages included! Whatever "Folkspeak" is, every passenger now both speaks and reads it. It is the standard language of the systems along the Marsiva's path, and is now also the native language of every passenger in the fleet. Along with Folkspeak and whatever languages they might have known before joining the Drift Fleet, passengers now also understand when any of the following languages are spoken (though they cannot speak, read, or write it themselves without practice): * English (and all variations of Common) * Mandarin * Spanish * Hindi * Arabic * Elven/Elvish (all major versions) * Russian * Japanese * Klingon * Mandalorian * Bengali '''Augment malfunctions''' Rest assured, your Atroma-sponsored augments are made of the highest quality materials and are virtually flawless. However, passengers may experience the occasional glitch when this perfect technology is forced to interact with their unpredictable and (usually) constantly-decaying organic bodies. Every once in a while, something might go wrong with an augment's programming, or it may have an unexpected and temporary effect on the passenger's brain. They have, on rare occasions, been known to cause drastic changes to the passenger's chemical and material makeup. Documented cases include: memory changes, personality changes, genetic/biological distortion, mental changes (ex. temporary inability to lie), temporal distortion (ex. age and/or lifepoint changes), etc. These effects are all completely harmless and temporary, as the augments are self-healing and correct the malfunction within a week or so. No need to worry! Players can mess with their characters via their augments whenever they'd like, but there may also be in-game events involving mass augment malfunction as well. Captains & First Mates There are only two official ranks within the fleet: "Captain" and "First Mate". Characters are free to create other ranks on the ship, but they will not be recognized by the Drift Fleet’s database. Theoretically, absolutely anyone can become captain of a ship. Ships can even have more than one captain! There is a submission form available on the network for anyone to apply IC. No qualifications or previous experience is needed. You can also submit a form on behalf of your character, saying that Atroma decided it was time to switch things up. Go to the [http://spaceshipit.dreamwidth.org/4390.html ships and crews page] to see the application form. The Drift Fleet seems to 'expect' that all ships have a captain. The fleet's computer system will try to notify the captain of anyone requesting to board their ship. If the computer is given conflicting instructions, it will accept the captain's commands over everyone else's. Other sentient life forms that hail the ships will expect to speak with the captain. Because of this, if there is no captain applying or listed on a ship by the time the next Drift Fleet Shuffle rolls around, a new captain will be chosen for that ship at random. Characters may also step down from captaincy at any time, ICly or through OOC intervention, by submitting a resignation form. That option can also be found on the [http://spaceshipit.dreamwidth.org/4390.html ships and crews page]. A similar application process is available for the position of first mate. If someone is listed as first mate, the system will defer to them if the captain cannot be reached. If there is no captain but a first mate is listed, the first mate will become the new captain during the next Drift Fleet Shuffle if no one else applies. Stations and Skillsets All players applying fora character will get to choose a starting skillset for their character that’ll help define what they’re supposed to be doing around the ship--like piloting, security, or engineering. This skillset will get downloaded into the character’s mind via their augment, and they’ll gain the knowledge and basic skills required to do that job. These skillsets exist completely independent of rank, so a pilot could also be a captain, or a communications officer could also be first mate. These skillsets don’t have to line up with what a character would be good at or what they already do in canon, just what you think would be the most fun to play with! Characters don’t even have to do their jobs. They can try to take over another position instead (and be bad at it), or attempt to dodge all responsibility entirely. But, given time, characters may find that they get farther and work faster when everyone’s doing what’s been downloaded into their brains. Remember, just because someone’s given you a cookbook doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to cook--it may take some characters time and practice to become good at what their augment has taught them! A pilot might still need to fly a few times, and an engineer could still blow a fuse with the wrong move. However, someone with a skillset is still going to be a lot better at that job than someone without it. '''What about characters with canon training?''' Unfortunately, even canon scientists, tech experts, and pilots with years of experience are going to have a hard time adjusting to the new surroundings. They may even find the technology unnaturally hard for them to learn, even if they've been studying this kind of thing their whole life. We're enforcing this because we want every different skillset to be a valuable addition to the crew--if this tech was easy to learn, why would you need an engineer? If anyone could fly the ship, why would a pilot be important? '''Can characters without the augment learn that skill?''' What if you have a personnel officer who really, really wants to learn how to use the comms system? They can do it, but it will take a 'lot' of time and practice. There is an unbelievably steep learning curve. At their best, they will never be quite as good at it as someone who has that skillset, and they won't get any of the bonuses that the augment skillset unlocks. Still... They're welcome to try! '''List of available augment skillsets''' '''× PILOT AUGMENT''' * '''Skills:''' Basic aeroscience, flight and navigation technology (for both SS and SR ships), travel protocol and regulations, knowledge of flight and travel hazards, orbit/atmospheric knowledge, recognition of ship and engine models, ability to make basic emergency repairs, basic knowledge of beaming/teleportation technologies * '''Functions:''' Ship flight, navigation, atmo-entry and takeoff, establishment of proper orbit, autopilot programming, astrography, radar/scanning (second to communications), beaming/teleporting (secondary to communications) * '''Ship notes:''' The ship will not leave autopilot unless a passenger with this augment is on board. Ships in auto-pilot will only obey instructions to land, take off, and establish a holding orbit, which means they can visit worlds and stations--but not leave their established path to meet up with other ships in the fleet. Crews also cannot take on jobs available in the system until they have a pilot available to take them there. '''× SECURITY AUGMENT''' * '''Skills:''' Knowledge and basic usage of standard weapons, aerial and personal combat protocol, skill with basic combat (both in-person and on your SR ship), weaponry and armor repair and maintenance, usage of ship utilities (cargo, non-engine and non-computer machinery, basic emergency repair, basic automated med kits) * '''Functions:''' Personal and SR ship combat, weaponry management, grunt work, utilities, movement on the ground * '''Ship notes:''' When a passenger with this augment is present, the ship is stocked with basic ship weaponry (for both SS and SR), an armory room with standard automatic weapons for the security augmented character and standard sidearms for everyone else on board, basic flexarmor for the security augmented character, and basic armored spacesuits for all passengers on board. If there are more than one security augmented characters on board, each gets their own automatic weapon and flexarmor. '''× ENGINEERING AUGMENT''' * '''Skills:''' Engine knowledge and repair (SS and SR), repair and maintenance of ship machinery and systems, emergency machinery and power improvisation, knowledge of standard technology, basic robotic and computer knowledge and usage * '''Functions:''' Ship repair and maintenance, basic electronics/mechanics/robotics/computer management, equipment and machinery management, emergency flight and mechanical improvisation, monitoring and management of ship shields * '''Ship notes:''' When a passenger with this augment is present, the ship gains standard defensive ship shields (for both SS and SR), SR shuttles that can fit a small-medium second passenger, and the ship is stocked with standard spare parts and repair equipment. Shield and equipment bonuses do not stack if there is more than one engineer on board. '''× COMMUNICATIONS AUGMENT''' * '''Skills:''' Communication technology (personnel and ship), telemetry technologies, knowledge of hailing/signal protocols, scanning and beaming/teleportation technologies, diplomatic protocols, basic repair and maintenance of communication devices, knowledge of ship systems for reporting purposes * '''Functions:''' Communication with ships/personnel, status reporting, sending and receiving signals/hails, scrambling and encoding signals, diplomacy, inter/intra-ship coordination, radar/scans (primary to pilot), beaming/teleporting (primary to pilot) * '''Ship notes:''' When a passenger with this augment is present, the ship gains a scrambling/encoding ability, and a full array of scanning/radar technologies. '''× LAB SUPPORT AUGMENT''' * '''Skills:''' Knowledge and basic usage of standard lab equipment, basic chemistry, basic first aid, and use of advanced automated med kits * '''Functions:''' Lab equipment, drugs, testing, personnel scanning, med kits, research, managing medicine and elicit substances * '''Ship notes:''' When a passenger with this augment is present, the ship gains a basic lab/sick bay, a small replenishing stock of basic painkillers and medicine, and the crew may formally request other medicine/chemicals. These bonuses do not stack if there are more than one lab support passengers on board. '''× CIVILIAN AUGMENTS''' Civilian augments come in several flavors, though the uploaded skillset is generally the same. Civilians are basically loaded up with only the default knowledge needed to get around the ship and pilot SR shuttles, as well as just enough about the equipment needed to perform their job. They don't get the specialized knowledge sets that the other augments do, but they have the option to change their augment to a specialized one at any time free of charge. Once they do, however, they can't ever go back to a civilian augment. * ''Maintenance'' - Understands the utilities of the ship, how to maintain them, and how to do basic repairs. The ship will construct a supply room and outfit itself with tiny, basic cleaning droids (space roombas that also catch vermin) when one of these passengers are present. These bonuses do not stack if there are multiple maintenance passengers on board. * ''Cook'' - Understands how to work with molded protein in addition to previous cooking knowledge. The kitchen gets a Rank I upgrade, plus a two-burner stove-top, extra pots and pans, a pantry stocked with dried potato flakes, flour and sugar, powdered milk, canned meat product, dried fish strips, dried vegetables, dry beans, peanut paste, and vegetable oil. These bonuses do not stack if there are multiple maintenance passengers on board. * ''Personnel Support'' - General title for civilians who serve a personnel-oriented purpose (ex. counselor, nurse, personal assistant, teacher). The ship constructs a new room with their name printed on the door. The room is outfitted with a desk, chairs, and a small couch, but can be redecorated and repurposed to better fit the occupation of the civilian. Each personnel support passenger on board will get their own room. * ''Tactical Support'' - General title for civilians who serve a tactical or utilitarian purpose (ex. recon, cargo worker, scout, combat support). The ship constructs extra storage compartments, hidden out of plain view. The more tactical support passengers are on board, the more hidden compartments there are. The HS Marsiva Marsiva is a monolith. It looks like a massive, black ovoid with a few lateral rings of lights and glowing windows. She's easily big enough to house the population of a large city. Despite her resemblance to a space station, she drifts along in utter silence. Messages sent from her are rare, and are always made up of simple text. There is a theory that she houses whatever party is responsible for producing the Drift Fleet program, but none of the program's transmissions are ever sent from her direction. SS ships and shuttles can come close to the Marsiva, but can never find a way in... So, the mystery of most of her inner workings remains. There is one area of Marsiva that every passenger sees at one point or another--the Hospitality Deck. This is where brand-new passengers first arrive, where grievous injuries are treated, and presumably where people who die in the Drift Fleet come back to life. Everything on the Hospitality Deck is clean, silent, and automated. Mostly contained in one open space, there are cots, exercise equipment, and a large viewing bay where passengers can sit in front of massive bowing windows for an unparalleled view of the void. Screens placed around for entertainment pick up any locally broadcasted programs, or revert to the default Drift Fleet Encouragement Messages. Bland, uplifting instrumental music that is designed to offend the lowest percentage of listeners will also be played. The unisex showers and supply closets connect to the main room, as does a fully-automated cafeteria serving above-average processed fare. The medical wing is down the only accessible hallway, where all care is provided by robotic equipment. There isn't a single living staff member to be found on the entire wing. There is no one to question. There are various request or complaint forms you can fill out over the network, but who knows if they ever go anywhere. Marsiva simply continues to drift along her predestined track--never slowing, never turning, and certainly never stopping. '''Your first days on board''' You'll wake up with a strange chill in your bones. You will find yourself nestled in one of the comfortable bunks on Marsiva's Hospitality Deck. You'll have a personal communicator on you. The network is typically left open and broadcasting at all times, so the fleet will likely be listening in on your first moments of consciousness. Don't worry if it's embarrassing--the audience loves that kind of thing! You will also find that any open wounds (unless they are supernatural and somehow important) will have been healed, usually without scarring--but not always. You will be wearing the clothes you last remember wearing, but they will be clean and fully repaired. Consider it our welcome gift to you. New passengers typically spend a few days on the Marsiva, along with whatever other passengers happen to be there that week. They are free to mingle with each other, make full use of the Hospitality Deck's amenities, and chat with the rest of fleet over the network while they wait for the next Drift Fleet Shuffle. The Fleet Pilot seat.jpg|The pilot seat. Hallway.jpg|A hallway. Engine room.jpg|The engine room. Cargo bay.png|The cargo bay. The Drift Fleet itself is made up of numerous smaller ships, all in various states of upgrade and repair. While they all ''look'' like they need a crew to maintain them, the ships suddenly take on a surprising level of automation when it's lacking members with vital skillsets. The ships will function well enough under a basic autopilot and perform very simple self-maintenance until passengers with those skills come to fill the void. Once crews fill out and begin to approach capacity, new ships are released from Marsiva to join the fleet. The ships come pre-named, and though a strong theory reigns that the Hostship herself manufactures the ships as needed, they sure don't resemble the Marsiva in any way, shape, or form. Though each ship has its own little quirks and can be upgraded as time goes on, they all start off basically the same--as cramped, unimpressive little vessels with only rudimentary weapons and utilities. They begin with basic communication and navigation arrays, simple short-range teleportation and tractor beams, two SR (short-range) pod shuttles, and basic utilities such as trash compactor and washer/dryer. They also come with their very own host of small mammalian pests living in the ventilation systems. '''How upgrades affect the ships''' When characters with certain augments join the crew, the ships self-remodel to offer the appropriate rooms and improved facilities earned through having those specific augments on board. When those characters leave the crew, the augment-related improvements disappear along with them. However, upgrades that are purchased by the crews each month are permanent and specific to that singular ship. The exception to this is when an augment-specific room is upgraded, such as the lab. If the only lab support officer leaves the ship, the lab and all its upgrades will disappear--but the purchased upgrades will appear again when a new lab support skillset finally joins the crew. Sometimes strange things happen and entire crews are rearranged from ship to ship, or individual ships may be lost or destroyed. When this happens, purchased upgrades go with the ship. '''What do the ships look/sound like?''' Each ship in the fleet is going to be unique, between various upgrades and the differences that each player's interpretation brings to the game... But there are a few characteristics that every ship will share, regardless of how much it gets updated. Every starting ship will be small, cramped, and not particularly shiny. From the outside, they don't look like like junk--but you'd never guess that any of them were ''new''. The interior comes in greys and browns, occasionally broken by colored lights from panels and the dim glow of computer screens. There are hatches and ladders and space-saving compartments aplenty. There are also ventilation shafts, piping, bizarre alien technology, and stuff that sometimes breaks for no reason. The layout varies from ship to ship, but the basic rooms are the same: every ship's got a cargo bay, a bridge, a bunk room, an engine room, and a "kitchen" space. Other rooms and additional features may be added according to the crew's various skillsets. Sound tends to echo strangely off the walls and through the vents, making it very easy to eavesdrop. The walls aren't very soundproof either. If someone starts yelling, there's a good chance the whole crew will hear it. There's also a constant humming noise, the sound of the engine running, and there aren't many places you can go in the ship where the quiet, mechanical sounds of its operation won't follow you. That, and the pitter-patter of rodent feet up in the vents. There's at least one panel in every room where you can access the network, and many of them can be tilted around to point the camera in different directions. While the charming voices of your Drift Fleet announcers assure you that the worlds are watching, no one can ever seem to find any hidden cameras or recording devices. '''Default Bunking''' A new ship starts with a capacity of five crew members, all of which share one bunk room (two sets of bunked beds, and a single cot with the word "captain" inscribed on the frame), and small lockers for belongings. In the lockers are a few pairs each of: cotton underwear, white tank tops, and [http://s2.photobucket.com/user/SHCK/media/Other/spacejumper_zpsbcd06f8a.jpg.html utility jumpers] (in both beige and charcoal) correctly sized to the passenger. The bathroom utilities consist of one closet-style toilet, and a pair of showerheads in a separate shower room. There are no dividers between showers, and there are ten minutes of hot water available each hour. Basic amenities are generated in a self-replenishing cabinet unit. The recharge time for each round of supplies is one week. '''Default Dining''' Standard dining and recreation is limited to a one-table galley, which doubles as a the central seating area. Appliances include a beverage dispenser (water, tea, cola, orange-flavored drink), microwave heating device, small combination refrigerator/freezer, and a basic formed-protein food dispensing unit. Protein comes in both soft-solid and liquid-gel textures (something like tofu and gel toothpaste). There are a dozen flavors available: chicken, wheat, mixed vegetable, cheddar, spicy chili, teriyaki, peanut butter, cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla, banana, and unflavored. It is dispensed at room temperature, but can be warmed in the microwave or chilled in the refrigerator. The passengers are encouraged to come up with inventive recipes with this versatile foodstuff. ''Atroma-Suggested Recipies:'' * Asian Chicken - Chicken solids and teriyaki gel, with sticks of vegetable solid on the side * PB Sandwich - Peanut butter and banana gel on slices of wheat solid * Banana Treat - Cinnamon and banana gel on vanilla solid, chilled * Mac and Cheese - Small cubes of wheat solid with cheddar gel, heated * Bananapop - Sticks of banana solid covered in chocolate gel, frozen (note: gel does not actually freeze) '''Default Recreation''' There is a treadmill set up in the cargo bay for exercise needs. Have fun! '''Accommodating character needs''' What happens if a character is a vampire who'd burn up whenever their ship flies too close to the sun? What if they're an AI with no body, or they have powers based on Earth that would get messed up if they were in space? What do you do when your character has a special need that's not met by the default ship configuration? The Drift Fleet would never bring in a passenger that it wasn't ready for, so if there is something that they absolutely need in order to survive or function, the Atroma will do something to accommodate it. For example, vampires sensitive to solar radiation will find a compound coating the windows that keeps out the harmful elements of solar rays. Those that need to consume blood (or other unsavory dangerous requirements) might find that there are pills stocked in the kitchen that provide the nutrients they need, or their augments might have altered their digestive systems entirely. Perhaps there is a spigot on the typical protein foodstuff machines that produces a synthetic version of what they need. They might not have their urges entirely quenched, but they will at least survive in relative comfort. In almost all cases where a passenger has some vital need, there will either be some small change to the fleet in order to accommodate, or the augment has made some small change to the passenger to make it not so much of a problem anymore. In every one of these cases however, the change is not a drastic one, and it is of no practical use to the rest of the crew. It is up to the player to decide how these changes will be implemented. Where can we go? What can we do? Piloting the ships and shuttles Unfortunately, all ships start out on autopilot, following a set track alongside the Marsiva. They can be told to land, take off, and orbit around stations and planets that the Drift Fleet visits, but unless someone with a pilot augment is on board, the ships cannot do much else. If a pilot ''is'' on board, they can go anywhere they would like within range of the Marsiva. Two ships in the Drift Fleet will never be more than 48 hours away from each other at any time (and they will usually much closer). Once a week, a SS ship's engine will be capable of a short-range warp that can cut 6 hours off of their trip. Each ship with a default arrangement comes equipped with two SR (short-range) shuttles that can carry a single passenger and a small amount of cargo--roughly what would fit into the trunk of a car. They also come equipped with 24 hours of engine charge. Default shuttles have no weapons or armor, are capable of short bursts of speed but are otherwise kind of slow, and must recharge their engines back at SS ships. Any character may jump in a SR shuttle and go flying wherever they'd like--but their engine life is very limited, and it would be unwise to fly far from the hostship. Stay near the Marsiva No matter who they are or what they do, all characters should stay within the range of Marsiva. That range is actually quite large--any one of the fleet's main ships could fly away from the hostship for 24 hours before they hit the edge of its range. A ship will not warp if the jump will take them beyond this radius. All of these rules can be overridden by Marsiva herself, of course. Ships absolutely cannot escape her control. At any time, she may take over and manipulate her fleet, and occasionally does so. Ships and passengers can neither lock her influence out nor escape her range. Any ship that attempts to leave her range will have a short countdown before it is remotely destroyed, and any passengers attempting to leave her range will be immediately beamed onto Marsiva's Hospitality Deck. Landing on stations and planets Approximately once a month, Marsiva will drag her fleet into a new star system, where players will have the opportunity to dock at several way-stations along the way. Way-stations are numerous and often entirely-automated locations where crews can rest, refuel, and hang out. Many have utilities uncommon on the ships, or other points of entertainment, making them popular destinations for the fleet as they pass by. These are good places to run into other passengers, either by happenstance or by arranged meet-up. Planets and large space-stations are less common, only occasionally coming into range of the fleet, but it is highly recommended that passengers visit them when they can. The audience loves a good on-world episode, and there are many goods and services on these planets that passengers should take advantage of while they can. New star systems may also contain unexplained phenomenon, dangerous astral bodies, bizarre news broadcasts, or space whales. Be sure to check the latest OOC Community update to learn what exciting things await your characters that month! Hanging out on your SS ships Not on a planet or a station? In-between plots? Not interested in leaving the relative safety of your ship? Ship-only mingles are both welcome and encouraged--they're a great way to get to know the characters you'll be holed up with for ''hours'' with in the black, empty expanse of space. Characters from other ships are also welcome to visit. Pilots and communications officers are able to use the short-range teleporter to beam people and objects on and off the ship, either by tracking the location of their personal communicator, or by being given specific coordinates to direct the beam. Anything within the confines of a ship cannot be beamed out of it by another ship, without access granted by the ship's pilot or communications officer. Otherwise, characters can move between ships that have a sealed lock connecting them. Why not have your crew hook up with another ship for a game of poker and some nacho-flavored protein? You can also put on space suits and travel outside the ship (assuming your pilot can get you close enough). Space suits come with six hours worth of air, magnetic boots, light personal propulsion systems, and can be tethered to the ship for safety. Jobs for the bored and bankrupt As Marsiva moves through the universe, work and other events available in the area will be noted, whether they're legitimate or otherwise! While Atroma doesn't condone illegal activities, it would be wrong of them to keep information from the passengers. Jobs like this are a great way to make money, get into trouble, boost your ratings, or simply stretch your legs for a while. Transferring Ships The Drift Fleet Shuffle Every Friday there's something known as the Drift Fleet Shuffle, an event where new characters get assigned to their ships, dropped players disappear from theirs, and any pending requests to be transferred to a new ship are accepted. Requests to become the captain (or co-captain!) of your ship are also processed at this time. The Shuffle occurs every Friday, and this is when ship-transfer requests are processed and new crew members are properly added to the fleet. So, depending on what day of the week they appear, the longest any passenger must wait on Marsiva is seven days. You will find out your initial crew assignment when you are finally teleported to their bridge! Everyone loves a surprise! There will also be a flutter of confetti, playful and welcoming musical tune, and small plate of chocolate-flavored dessert cream sent along to celebrate. You may then put in a request to transfer ships anytime after that, but must still wait for the next Drift Fleet Shuffle before it is processed. Other transfers To transfer to a different crew, or to transfer to an unoccupied ship and take over as captain, characters must fill out a little paperwork, and the request will undergo a small wait. It's all that red tape, you know. The passenger makes the request from any network station, and the request is processed during the next Drift Fleet Shuffle! No other captain or crew approval needed! However, if the ship they request to transfer to has no room for them, the request will fail. They will have to wait until a slot is open for them, or until the ship in question is upgraded to allow a larger crew capacity. All crew transfer requests are processed in the order they are received. The Network Personal communicators Every ship in the fleet is part of a "communications network". Messages can be broadcast to the network as text, audio, or video. They can be picked up in real time, but will also remain in "network storage" so that other people can pick up and respond to the message later. For example, if someone sends an emergency broadcast to the whole fleet, even people who are six hours late can still find the message and reply to it. You can also send other data files over the network, such as digital coordinates, pictures, reports, and even viruses. Files can either be stored for access on the network itself, or sent to a specific ship for immediate download. This way, individual ships can broadcast messages and communicate with the entire fleet at once, using the network like an intra-ship phone and filesharing service. Any ships you might encounter outside of the Drift Fleet will need to be contacted via longwave broadcasts or hailing signals, but that technology is separate from the network. Broadcasts can be encoded to filter to certain ships only, but only if the sending ship has a communications officer on board--and once the encoding array exists on the ship, typically only passengers with pilot or communication augments will have the knowledge to use it. Individual passengers are also equipped with personal communicators. They are designed to be kept easily in a pocket or clipped to something, and every person knows their personal frequency number. Passengers can either send a message to their whole crew at once, or filter their messages to one (or more) specific crewmember's frequency. Passengers can only communicate with others outside of their crew if they know their specific frequency number, and it doesn't always work so well--on a bad day, your communications may be subject to heavy static, interference, or extremely long wait times between sending and receiving. Also, curious communications officers can browse the waves and tune into any frequency of personal communicators, so the conversations might not always be private. And while hailing outside ships and encoding messages can only be done by a communications officer or pilot, anyone can use the personal communicators and network. Furthermore, both the personal communicators and network stations around the ship are known to occasionally malfunction, misbehave, or simply turn on at the whims of Atroma--which means it's entirely possible for something to be broadcast to the entire fleet on accident. Think of how the ratings will soar! Personal communicators Action posts and mingles Ratings Since your characters are supposedly part of some intergalactic TV show... They're frequently told to keep their ratings up! Ratings are an invisible score given to your character depending on how much they're entertaining the audience. It's entirely up to you to decide what kind of ratings your character is getting--whether they're doing great, in-between, or if they're just not that popular with the audience. A character's ratings can change from day to day, or remain mostly steady... And it's completely up to you to decide what affects their ratings in the first place. Ratings are only here to be an IC incentive for characters to get up and do stuff. Getting paid The biggest reason for your character to want good ratings? That's how they get paid. By default, everyone gets a tiny allowance for being on the show, but this flow of money can be increased as the character rises in popularity on the show. They can also get "bonuses" when they do something that really boosts their ratings (and it might convince them to keep doing it!). Money can be used to buy things at stations, on-world, and sometimes off the Drift Fleet's home shopping network... It can also be used towards ship upgrades and personal augment upgrades at the end of every month. Currency Money comes in two forms: chips and credits. "Chips" are the universal hard cash, and they look like small rectangles made of synthetic material. Carrying chips comes with the benefits of convenience and flexibility--you can use them anywhere, you can squirrel them away off the grid, some places don't accept credits--but it also runs the risk of theft. Virtual currency is generally referred to as "credits", which are automatically generated from your character's ratings. Their credits are loaded onto a digital "bank account" on the passenger's augment, and bound to that augment ID--preventing theft. Whenever a transaction is made with credits, they are automatically subtracted from this account. They may check their credit amount from most terminals, located on their ships, stations, and even some worlds. Most terminals can also transfer credits into chips, and vice-versa. Characters may also encounter "local currency" when they visit new systems. While each system might have its own local currency of varying worth, most have services to convert local cash to the universal type--which can be loaded into either chips or credits at the character's request. Sponsor drops Another reason to get good ratings? The Drift Fleet is one of the biggest shows in the galaxy, which means there's a lot of competition between companies to get their brands into the program. As such, characters who are getting good ratings may occasionally receive sponsor drops from corporations, delivered onto their ship for the whole audience to see. These drops will be beamed directly onto the ship's cargo bay, and are usually filled with company-branded, cheaply-made supplies and foodstuffs. More often than not, they will also be in bulk. Examples include: a month's supply of sugary brand cereal, a whole crate full identical stuffed animals, a shipment of "high quality" vodka that tastes more like drain cleaner, a delivery of two-dozen heavily-branded toothbrushes, a large box of boring white bread, a set of hats with company logos on them, etc. Shipments may contain notes that promise future sponsorship if characters endorse their brands. Players are encouraged to make up their own companies and silly promotional drops whenever they'd like--as long as the things being dropped are never actually that helpful. Going home The last reason to get good ratings is because that's how you win. The person with the highest ratings at the end of the "cycle" gets to leave the Drift Fleet! At least, that's what they keep telling you... Healing & Death When passengers are wounded, they have a few options for treatment. Automated med kits aren't too hard to find and are a good basic option, if you can find someone who knows how to operate it. If the wounds are severe, you'll need a lab specialist and the right equipment, or be close enough to the Hostship to beam the patient aboard the Hospitality Deck. The robotic assistants there can take care of just about any patient--as long as they are still alive. If they are not, however... that's another story entirely. Death is taken very seriously in the Drift Fleet. While such drama can understandably boost ratings for a short amount of time, witnessing the death of a passenger is rough on the audience. It is generally not encouraged. Luckily, the technology aboard the Hostship is such that a passenger can be reconstructed and brought back to life. Within an hour after death, a dead passenger's body will be beamed back to the mothership. What happens after that point remains a mystery--though any passengers that happen to be on the Marsiva's hospitality deck can see the character in a healing vat during their last week of reconstruction. It takes two weeks from the point of death for a resurrected patient to be stable enough to be released. Upon waking, the patient will be extremely week and ailing for anywhere from one to three weeks, depending on both constitution and luck. They will be plagued with fever and occasional hallucinations for the first week, with continuing fatigue, phantom pain, and nightmares after that. The symptoms fade slowly until full strength and stability is regained, though patients often complain about a lingering and haunting sense of dread that comes and goes, and may never leave completely... Those patients that claim to retain memories from their time of regeneration talk of shadowy beings, icy spirits, a looming sense of great evil, and a mishmash of personal memories and fears. This is obviously nothing more than the harmless antics of a healing brain, maybe something the Atroma threw in for a little reality show drama--but it is distressing for the patient nonetheless. Newly-healed passengers can be beamed back aboard their ships as soon as they are released. They may also request to join another ship, especially if their old ship was the reason they wound up back on the Marsiva to begin with. What is with all these Earth references? Those who are aware of Earth species and culture may comment on the disproportionate number of humans and humanoid species in the Drift Fleet crews. There are also a strange number of humans populating the planets and stations along the Hostship's rout. In fact, anyone who knows about Earth might notice that the Drift Fleet program itself is startlingly similar to the "reality television" programs that are so popular there... That is strange, isn't it? How to use the game's spreadsheets If you're like me and the word 'spreadsheets' strikes a deep loathing in your soul, or if you open the AC and Upgrade links and want to cry, never fear! I promise that it's not as scary as it seems, and that it really is there to make life simpler on everyone. So, here is a little guide to help you out and know what you're actually looking at-- Activity Sheet: That's this thing here. This one is super easy. First, take note of the little tabs at the bottom that have the names of the months on them. Make sure that you have the current month selected. Then, all you have to do is find the row with character's name on the list (it's organized alphabetically by however it's written), click the cell in that row where the URLs are supposed to go, and paste whatever links will fulfill your AC for the month. If you want, you can also click the 'status' cell next to your character's name and pick the appropriate status from the drop-down menu that appears. This isn't vital though, so don't worry about it if you miss it. And that's all! The sheets save automatically, so you can just close the page when you're done adding your links. Upgrade Sheet: The Upgrade sheet is this one, and it looks kind of busy and intimidating at first glance. But it's very similar to the AC sheet in that you just make sure the correct month tab is selected at the bottom, then click in the cells you want to edit and type what you want it to say. Each month (if you opt to purchase an upgrade) you will be putting your characters' names into one cell on either on the augment or the ship-upgrade side of the sheet, and then typing in what upgrade you'd like to purchase for them that month. And just like the other sheet, edits are automatically saved, so you can just close the page when you're done. For both sheets, you can update them at any time, change it as many times as you want, and we will check over them at the end of the month. Also, if something is still confusing or you want help of any kind, please don't hesitate to plurk or message one of us! We would love to help make this as easy as possible for you! And then you too can feel like some kind of technological wizard~ Frequently Asked Questions What time do the clocks run on? What info can characters find out about their crewmates? Can characters in shuttles visit the Marsiva? How should we tag posts? Is there an anonymous function on the network?=